AP Photo/Nati HarnikCarson Fulmer has three above-average pitches, but his 6-foot stature still has scouts skeptical.

Vanderbilt right-hander Carson Fulmer struck out 12 Tennessee Volunteers over eight innings on Friday, with half of those against the top four hitters in Tennessee’s lineup. It was a career high for Fulmer, who has some of the most explosive stuff in the draft but is no lock to remain a long-term starter because of his size (6 feet, 195 pounds) and delivery.
Fulmer’s fastball sits 91-94 mph, touching a bit higher at times, and has tremendous movement. His arm acceleration is among the best in the draft class -- it has to be for someone his size to let it rip in the mid-90s, allowing him to generate fantastic spin on the baseball.
Unfortunately, that arm speed comes at the price of violence in Fulmer’s delivery that many feel will exile him to the bullpen in pro ball.

Richard C. Lewis/Icon SMIDuke pitcher Mike Matuella continues to build his way back up to top status.

As it so often is in February, Mother Nature was a major factor in both the college and prep ranks. Several series were thrown off or cancelled, including major tournaments like the Irish Classic at the USA training facility in Cary, N.C.

Despite the inclement weather, we did have some interesting developments take place of the weekend, including the debut of one of the best prep pitchers in the class, a short outing in the return of a potential top five pick, and two Commodores continuing to state their claim as top 15 candidates in this year’s draft.

Short return for Matuella

After missing last week with soreness in his right forearm, Duke’s Michael Matuella had his start pushed back to Sunday due to the frigid conditions in Durham.

The story of this weekend in terms of MLB draft prospects was not who performed well or who played poorly, but who didn't participate at all. Duke right-hander Mike Matuella was scratched for the weekend because of forearm tightness -- that might explain why his velocity dipped after the first inning when I saw him last week -- for precautionary reasons; Vanderbilt right-hander Walker Buehler was held out again for elbow tightness; and Miami left-hander Andrew Suarez missed his start Friday with what appears to be a strained oblique.

"Thankfully, it's so early [in the season]," an NL East front-office member said. "That said, it doesn't matter if it's May or February or October, you never want to see arm troubles. It's a very talented group, but there are serious durability issues with a large portion of the top arms in the class."

Fortunately, we did see some impressive performances this weekend, including a West Coast right-hander putting up dominant numbers, an American Conference outfielder who might have the best hit tool in the class, and a prospect written off by many who has started the year on the right foot.

Tate sees stock rise

There's still a long way to go, but in these first two weeks, no prospect has seen his stock rise like UC Santa Barbara right-hander Dillon Tate.

AP Photo/Wade PayneWalker Buehler is Vandy's top prospect, but the Commodores are loaded with depth again this year.

You never really know what to expect from the first weekend of the college baseball season, but despite some less-than-spectacular conditions in several areas of the country, we saw quite a few of the draft’s top prospects start the year in solid, if unspectacular, fashion.

This weekend we saw a potential top-10 southpaw start off on the right foot, why scouts will be spending lots of time in Nashville this spring, and two of the SEC’s best prospects start the year in opposite directions. Here are my notes.

Larry Goren/Four Seam Images/AP ImagesAll signs point to lefty Brady Aiken being the top talent again in this year's draft class.

If there is such thing as a draft season, it begins this week. College baseball will begin its season Friday, and high schools in warm-weather states will get their campaigns started as well.

And like every year, there are several intriguing plotlines that scouts and teams will be following over the next three months. These storylines will help shape the class and shape how the draft will play out come June.

Here are five of the most intriguing storylines fans of the MLB draft should be following this spring.

1. Is Brady Aiken the best player in the draft class -- again?

It's sort of an odd question to ask right now, as we aren't 100 percent certain Aiken will even be eligible for the 2015 draft. Signs point to yes, however, and assuming he shows the same type of stuff and command he did last spring, he's a borderline prohibitive favorite to be the top player in this year's class.

"I don't know how you don't have him at No. 1, especially in a fairly weak draft class," one AL scout said.

Larry Goren/Four Seam Images/AP ImagesPitcher Brady Aiken, the top pick in the 2014 draft, profiles as the top option in the '15 draft as well.

The 2015 draft class is about average, certainly not among the better classes, but weak only in specific areas such as college position players and catchers at any level. It's deep in college starters, solid in prep bats and middle-of-the-road for high school arms, although it could end up better than that due to some very projectable guys under the top tier of hard throwers.

It's very early for this sort of exercise, but Christopher Crawford and I have put together a ranking of the top 30 prospects in the 2015 class. It's not a projection of where they'll be picked, mind you, but an attempt to put some of the names in a logical order based on present talent and long-term outlook.

Tom Hauck for Student SportsTexas A&M football commit Kyler Murray also has great skills on the baseball diamond.

The Under Armour All-American Game took place Saturday at Wrigley Field, featuring many of the top high school prospects for the 2015 draft, with Bill Ripken and Sean Casey serving as managers. It was dominated by pitchers, as these showcase games usually are, but a handful of hitters stood out, including one whose name you're going to hear a lot in the next few years, even if he doesn't sign out of the draft in June.

• Allen, Texas, infielder Kyler Murray was the star of the game, in part because of how he got there; his flight from Texas was delayed and he was coming in late to begin with because of his football commitments, so he arrived at Wrigley Field after the first pitch.

Lefty Kolby Allard of San Clemente (California) High School was the breakout star of this year's Perfect Game All-American Classic, played once again at Petco Park in San Diego. The game was dominated by pitching, but nobody was as impressive as Allard, who punched out all three batters he faced on just 12 pitches, and showed a plus fastball and curveball along the way. The heater sat at 92-95 with easy velocity, while the curveball was 78-79, sharp with depth and tight rotation.

Left-hander Justin Hooper started for the West team and showed premium stuff, too, tossing darts at 93-96 with some life, and a changeup at 83 that was absurd. He couldn't finish his curveball at 73-74, however, and he might end up better suited to a slider if his current breaker continues to pose problems. His delivery is funky, which provides deception but may not be as easy to repeat 100-plus times a game.

The 2014 Rule 4 Draft is over, which means every club just got an influx of top talent into its farm system. Assuming all these top picks sign, here are five teams who just acquired a new No. 1 prospect as well as notes on two other teams' first overall picks and where they might slot into the prospect rankings of each organization.

The 2014 MLB draft has come and gone, and although plenty of teams did well over the three days, here’s a look at the five teams that improved their systems the most. (Of course, this assumes the teams are able to sign the players they drafted.)

I liked the D-backs' draft from the get-go. At 16, they took high-upside right-hander Touki Toussaint (Round 1), an athletic, loose-armed prep pitcher who will show a plus fastball and curveball, but this spring showed better command and a new changeup. Cody Reed (Round 2) could be a steal if the Snakes can keep his weight down.

The Orioles didn't pick at all on Day 1; their first selection was Brian Gonzalez at 91st overall (Round 3), a lefty from Florida's Archbishop McCarthy High School, at which his pitching coach was former big leaguer Alex Fernandez. Gonzalez is very interesting for a third-rounder, built like a big league starter already and showing three pitches. His velocity is mostly in the 89-93 mph range, and he has a plus changeup in the upper 70s that he just needs to hide a little more out of his hand. Fernandez’s curveball is developing but has good shape, and his command is solid for his age.

Day 2 of the MLB draft has come and gone. It’s not a day that gets a lot of respect, but scouts will tell you that this is a day that can either make or break an organization. That might seem hyperbolic, but that’s how important the draft can be to the success -- or lack thereof -- of a MLB team.

Here’s a look at the best and most questionable selections of Day 2 of the 2014 MLB draft. We'll break it down by division.

AL East

Highest upside: Austin DeCarr, RHP, Salisbury (Connecticut) School
New York Yankees (Round 3)His stock shot up over the past few weeks after touching 96 mph with his fastball, but he was always on scouts' radars because of his ability to throw strikes with all three pitches, the best of which is a curveball that’s a plus offering right now.

The new slotting system in baseball has made Day 1 analysis more difficult, as many teams approach the draft with a more holistic, top-down approach designed to spread money around to specific picks. With that in mind, here are some preliminary thoughts on eight teams' Day 1 selections: four I really liked, four I didn't really get. You can also find my list of the 10 best players available at the bottom.

I'll have team-by-team reports after Day 2, with AL reports on Saturday and NL reports on Monday.

Day 1 of the MLB draft is behind us, and while most of the attention will go toward the first round, there were plenty of interesting picks that made the second round just as intriguing as those first 34 selections.

Here’s a look at the highlights -- and possible lowlights -- of the picks made after the first round of the 2014 MLB draft.

AL East

Highest upside:Sean Reid-Foley, RHP, Sandalwood High School (Jacksonville, Florida) -- Reid-Foley was an arm I thought would go in the first 20 to 25 picks, but for whatever reason, his stock fell over the past few days. The Toronto Blue Jays should feel fortunate to pick up a right-hander with this kind of talent this late, though, as he has two plus pitches in his 90-94 mph fastball and quality slider.

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Keith Law

Keith Law joined ESPN.com in June 2006 as the lead baseball analyst for Scouts Inc., covering the majors, minors and amateurs. Before joining ESPN, Law spent 4½ years with the Toronto Blue Jays as a special assistant to the general manager, and was previously a writer for Baseball Prospectus. He graduated from Harvard College and holds an MBA from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon.